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Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.

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Clean/renewable etf's. Are you there now or considering investing

The below link to etf.com has several data sets, including their list of 19 (scroll down the page). The table data is set by AUM, but may be sorted by selecting 3 month return, etc.
Aside from a particular area (solar, wind, water...whatever) We consider AUM to be of importance, as some of the eft's have very low AUM. Being able to trade these etf's may be thin for low AUM issues, and/or have larger spreads.
We purchased a small amount of TAN (solar) when Putin decided to play war in Ukraine.
Any of these sectors may have their own problems for profit; being the whims of the markets, supply chain, legislation and monetary support from countries and also that; share buys/sells and/or options trading by large investment houses (hedge funds, etc.) may affect performance.

For us, less than a 5% position doesn't add enough meaningful value to the overall portfolio. This doesn't mean an immediate 5% + buy, but to obtain this point within a short time frame via "dollar cost averaging". Generally, we buy or sell in a least 5% positions. The mind set being; that we feel comfortable with this choice........OR one should likely not consider the transaction at all.

As to TAN in particular, this etf has held up well in 2022, considering the performance damage done in many areas of the overall markets.

Have you investments in this area? What do you like or are watching???
Note: there may be other choices not on the short list in the link.

19 renewable clean energy etf list

Thank you for your input.
Remain curious,
Catch

Comments

  • Hi catch,

    This may or may not be of help but I have traded in and out of both ICLN and TAN over the past two years depending on the appeal of of 'clean energy' within the energy sector. I currently hold 3 individual equities in the solar realm and have held them well over 2 years. I hope that you enjoy rollercoasters.
  • edited August 2022
    Thanks @Mark
    I agree that this sector has a lot of price swings. And not unlike other sector plays, the etf's being introduced has expanded a lot. My interest and use of etf's for sector investing goes back to the early '80's of using Fidelity select mutual funds.
    From a various mix of sectors (wide and narrow) I watch, ICLN and TAN were the only 2 today that closed positive, +.36% and +.56%.
  • @catch22: I have have PBL, TAN, ICLN, and QCLN on a watch list, but I own none. I do have positions in DQ and LAC, both of which are indirect plays on clean energy. I keep the positions small and I take the investor’s equivalent of Dramamine before checking my account.
  • Someone on MFO brought up LIT (lithium and battery tech) a while back. I have it on watch but own only ICLN and TAN now.

    Then there's a whole slew of other etf's that are somewhat in the ballpark but with their own specialty themes, not only renewable energy, like GBLD, TEMP, ERTH, GRID, SMOG, and CRBN. None of them even come close to passing the volume test for me, though. If there was still an "ETF deathwatch" site, they'd probably be on it.
  • Hello @Catch22 - like you I’ve been curious about the clean/renewable energy sector and have watched it for some time. On Monday, purchased less than a toe hold in -TAN, ICLN, QCLN, and PBW. Yes, there’s quite a bit of overlap. Still there’s a small cap, mid cap, and one with a larger percentage to international exposure (been watching Vestas for years) and of course the solar focus.
  • edited August 2022
    We are in. And GRID is included. Per ETF.com:
    The sector may include business in electric grid, electric meters and devices, networks, energy storage and management, and enabling software. GRID also screens for minimum liquidity and market cap. To enhance exposure to the smart grid market, the index provider uses a tiered weighting scheme. Securities are initially market cap weighted. Then a collective weight of 80% for Pure Play and 20% for Diversified are allocated. The Index is reconstituted semi-annually and rebalanced quarter.
    If you get into this area you need to think about your commitment to electric vehicles. Tesla wags the dog at several of the alt-energy etf's. I'm not into vehicles (consumer durables) as an investment. I want to focus on the production of what goes into the vehicles, and how it is delivered.

    Another factor to consider is how you feel about China. It can be a large part of some of these funds. My wife wanted a pure solar play, so she has TAN, which is around 27% China/Hong King.

    The other alt/greens we ended up with are PBD
    passively managed to invest in a wide array of global renewable energy companies, including those involved in conservation, improving energy efficiency and advancing renewable energy.
    And ICLN
    those involved in the biofuels, ethanol, geothermal, hydroelectric, solar, and wind industries. Aside from holding companies that produce energy through these means, ICLN also includes companies that develop technology and equipment used in the process.
    Taken altogether, these stakes are under 5% of our portfolios. I look at them as long term growth flyers at best, or extensions of our holdings in utilities and infrastructure at worst.

    Holding overlap has never been something I worry about. If there is enough differentiation between the theses then individual companies will come and go in larger or smaller bites.

    First bought these for our portfolios when they were priced rather a lot higher. I bought more of them in early July 2022 when they were rather a lot lower.

    If you add in our water ETF's, then we're over 5%. I look at water as an environment-influenced opportunity going forward.
  • edited August 2022
    @AndyJ, Something to think about, I've read there is a lot of research going on in the battery industry to eliminate the use of lithium. It is a limited and very expensive Chinese dominated commodity and a big hazard to the environment, so I would think it is just a matter of time before science figures out a new energy component for batteries. I know personally from a couple guys I worked with in the past, the "big guy" of electric car manufacturing is testing process options with them.
  • edited August 2022
    ISTM this type of focused industry is a bit risky for the average investor. I haven’t a clue whether the gambits will pay off. If based on one’s analysis of the relative health and valuation of the component industries, than go for it! If the motivation has to do mainly with one’s commitment to fighting global warming (laudatory ambition) than stay away. Vote your ethics. Invest for profit. As far as the minerals used for batteries, solar and other environmental friendly components, there are natural resource funds with exposure to them, EM countries rich in them, and also mining companies to consider.

    In answer to @Catch22 …. NO. Have never owned a focused fund or company in the greenhouse area. However, do allocate a small sum 7-9% of portfolio to natural resource producers. In addition a very small hold on GLTR (mostly gold & silver, but smaller allocations to platinum & palladium). These market segments are so volatile that my investments in them are quite diverse and not very large on an individual basis. But thanks for the provocative question.
  • edited August 2022
    @MikeM, thanks for the note. Right, there are battery options being researched, and hopefully some will be better options than lithium.

    We do have a major lithium source in the U.S., apparently under development -- the Salton Sea in S. Cal., one of the weirder geographic features on the continent.
  • edited August 2022
    I heard via TV that Ford raised the price of their EV truck up over $8K !

    Not enjoying that ride, Derf
    Added: If you like green,
    take a look at Mr. Market
  • No question in my mind that lithium (LAC, in my case) may be supplanted by a more environmentally friendly product. There is controversy about LAC’s desire to develop the Thacker Pass site in Nevada and risk overhangs the stock. I’d liked to see US mining succeed rather than have supply reliant on China; in any event this is a holding (small) that requires nose-holding.
  • BenWP said:

    No question in my mind that lithium (LAC, in my case) may be supplanted by a more environmentally friendly product.

    Here's one, for utility-scale storage, based on iron-flow technology, that will also be much cheaper than lithium.
  • Every fund/ETF company is jumping on the "Climate Change " bandwagon, but I think there is a good case to make for active management here, as the technology is rapidly changing and sophisticated engineers and mangers can add a lot of value by knowing what may work and may not. Most ETFs are based on "indexes" that in some cases, the companies create themselves, hardly active management. GM and Ford may well be the ultimate winners of the electric vehicle race, but neither are in most "Green" ETFs based on these indices, only TSLA.

    I ( or my kids IRAs) have had positions in TAN LIT PBD PHO ( water) and FCX ( Copper) for years. My son wanted only clean energy and "green" investments so even with the recent "swoon" some of his ETFs are up 250% in the last eight years since we started his accounts.

    I recently spent a fair amount of time looking for actively managed funds in "climate change" and found several interesting ideas. It is hard to search for "climate Change" as it is not a fund category that I am aware of, but M* classifies most funds as " natural resources" and you can skim their names pretty quickly. Another way is to look for concentrated positions in some of the usual companies, or other funds that hold significant positions in common with some of the bigger inaccessible funds like GCCHX.

    Most funds are only recently organized, but NALFX has a long track record. GMOs Climate Change Fund GCCHX has been in business since 2017 and provides a good comparison, although it has a $5,000,000 minimum. ( Interestingly NALFX beats it with a bit more volatility).

    Most are less than a year old.

    I nibbled also at RKCIX ( Rockefeller management trying to make up for JD's sins), and GCEBX ( has a bit of an income focus so is less volatile) and NETZ (an ETF run by "Engine no 1, the group that forced XOM to the climate change table).

    Other things to think about are materials that will go up in price as demand increases like rare earths (REMX) and "Green minerals" ( GMET). Huge quantities of Cobalt, etc will be needed to transition to carbon neutral. Carbon credits are another idea (KRBN), as is timberland ( hard to find for individuals)

    I was thinking of putting this together in a Commentary piece, but my skills are limited to typing so I dumped a lot of these ideas into just a word document.
  • @Derf
    Derf said:

    I heard via TV that Ford raised the price of their EV truck up over $8K !

    Not enjoying that ride, Derf
    Added: If you like green,
    take a look at Mr. Market

    This is why people need to look at which sectors the "green" etf is sampling.

    Ford may be charging more for a consumer durable. OTOH, they just signed a big deal with DTE Energy that will result in 650 MW of new solar energy generation in Michigan by 2025.

    https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/ford/2022/08/10/ford-dtes-solar-deal-help-automaker-go-carbon-free-michigan/10282086002/


  • edited August 2022
    We have been adding to ( dca).... past few months
    Chpt
    Lcid
    Soxl
    Tqqq
    fcel
    Qs
    Ford
    Copper and platinum

    Think these maybe very good for long terms
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